FA 2.0 Fleet Construction

That looks like a blast to play!

With Firestorm Armada 2.0 coming up in the next couple of days, we're starting to find out a little how fleets are going to be constructed.  On the individual ship level, the larger ships in the form of Cruisers onward will have options to customize how you want them to play.  There will be hard points and upgrade options on these ships that you can take for a few extra points.

The example here is from Alexmann on the SG forums.

Furthermore, you're allowed to use any Cruiser model that they currently have in the game.  It doesn't matter if you're using a MKI CA, MKII from the last batch of releases or MKIII from the new patrol set, you can basically build your own cruiser with the points allowed.  This is Spartan Games' way to allow you to build your fleet how you see fit; using the models that you enjoy rather than buying the new stuff every time.  While some question whether this will be good for business, I think they're missing the fact that SG puts out some ridiculous looking sculpts.  I know for a fact that I'll be picking up some new Patrol Fleets even though I have the older ships.

Personally, I really like how this system is done.  I've always wanted to customize my ships and one of the biggest turnoffs with version 1.0 and 1.5 of the game was that I couldn't.  As a big supporter of BFG, the lack of special rules and customization really bothered me.  With this new system, admirals can pretend that the older ships have been retrofitted to new specifications, giving his older models purpose and functionality on the battlefield.  Not only does this focus more on gameplay, but allows the player to try out some of the new features without having to commit to new models.  Frankly, it just makes sense, especially when you consider the fact that most of the models you're playing with is a mere spec on the flight stand anyway.

While I haven't received my copy of the rulebook yet, I did have a chance to get a few blurbs from some of the beta testers on the forum.  One of the best things I've heard today was that MARs and other special rules will be true to the fantasy.  Expect to see Bio-hazard Ammo to be on Directorate vessels and Energy Transfer to be pretty much an Aquan thing.  Star Cards are also gone, replaced by the Tactical Cards that can be found in the patrol boxes.

According to reddwarf on SG:
"Star Cards are gone, replaced by Tac cards.   There is a limited selection of Tac cards available (by limited I mean fewer but generally stronger, as well as some that are faction/alliance/league specific as well as general usage cards) but you get to choose the ones you want at the start of the game and play them on the turn you wish, *if* your Admiral is on the board.  So I guess they represent "Admiral Upgrades" in a way, as well as "action" orders.  Tac Cards are a standard rule, so unless the tournament decides differently I would think they would be included.  Technically the rule is worded "You may choose up to X TAC cards" (X varies a little), so I suppose X can be zero if you choose/don't like cards.  But each player makes that decision on their own by default (certainly you could both agree to skip taking them)."

Once again, really exciting.  Anything that gives the game more flexibility while allow for deeper gameplay is good for the longevity of the game.  After all, you just can't have players lining up their ships and rolling assloads of dice without any thought.  Just a couple of days left until I get the book in my hands, but I'm sure players all over the place are brainstorming like crazy what their list will be.  Until I know for sure what will be a good point range to play competitively, I'll still aim for 1000 points as my comfortable flying zone.  Now all Spartan Games needs to do is release their PDF ship stats so I can see what I want to field!